Dr. Byron Hyde and Professor Kenny De Meirleir are two of the best-known names in the field of CFS/ME research. Dr. Hyde is the director of the Nightingale Research Foundation located in Ottawa, Canada. His book, The Clinical and Scientific Basis of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome remains the most comprehensive collection of scientific and clinical studies on CFS/ME ever published.

Professor Kenny De Meirleir is a professor of physiology and internal medicine at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel in Belgium. Professor De Meirleir has co-authored more than 80 studies on CFS/ME. He was also one of the authors of the International Consensus Criteria, the most accurate case definition for evaluating CFS/ME. Professor De Meirleir's work is based on the premise that the gut wall in CFS/ME is abnormal, and that bacterial pathogens in the gut must be treated in order for antivirals or other treatments to be effective.

In this interview, conducted in 2008 by Öppna Kanalen Göteborgs Webb-TV (a Swedish open-channel station), Dr. Hyde spoke about CNS involvement. His perspective is that CFS/ME is a form of brain injury. He considers it to be a diffuse injury that results in an inability to handle physical or mental stress. Once the brain is injured, the illness affects all body systems. He does not believe there is a general treatment for CFS/ME. However, he believes there is a great deal of collateral damage that must be treated on an individual basis.

Professor De Meirleir spoke about his approach to treating CFS/ME. He performs normal tests to exclude major diseases, then does a series of tests for viruses, immune system, and digestive system function. He believes that there is a predisposition to the disease when there is food intolerance or maldigestion. He considers maldigestion to be a major stress on the immune system, 80% of which is located in the gut. When a subsequent infection occurs, “your bucket flows over and you go into a state where the immune system never comes to rest.”

In CFS/ME, Professor De Meirleir treats food intolerance first (with diet). Then he treats gut dysbiosis (abnormal gut flora) and helps repair the gut barrier (leaky gut). He says it takes a year to recover gut function. Professor De Meirleir also spoke at length about subgroups.

Thanks for yet another bit of information about ME/CFS. The video was somewhat disappointing, however, in that one of the speakers was so vague as to leave questions about his actual knowledge of this mysterious syndrome, while the other seemed to be a bit less than confident in his knowledge. There are myriad experts out there who would love to help others to understand ME/CFS who could also present themselves well. Just wish it was that type you'd selected to post here.

it isnt accurate to say tht demeirleir's work is based on gut dysbiosis...he just came out with a paper saying its likely herv's in the plasmacytoid dendritic cells of the lymphatic system (80% of which is in the gut) that are causing the problem. helping the gut would reduce inflammation, which would probably reduce acitivity of HERV's and hence the disease...at least thats my take on it.